CUMBERLAND TIMES-NEWS, ctn@times-news.com
KEYSER, W.Va. — The Potomac State volleyball team had a busy weekend, first winning a pair of home matches on Friday and then taking second place at the Montgomery College Raptors Tournament.
The Catamounts played 22 sets over the three-day period.
It began with a 25-20, 25-11, 25-8 win over Garrett and a 25-20, 25-10, 25-15 victory over Cecil in a tri-match at Potomac State on Friday.
At Montgomery, in the round-robin portion of the tournament, the Catamounts beat Howard 25-12, 25-15, 25-10 and Southern Maryland 25-18, 25-19, 25-11, before losing a nail biter to Montgomery 24-26, 25-23, 23-25, 23-25.
The final match of the round robin was a 25-23, 25-12, 25-15 win over the Community College of Rhode Island.
In the tournament final against Montgomery, the Raptors took a 10-2 lead in the first set and the Cats were unable to recover in a 16-25, 19-25, 14-25 loss.
“The girls put forth a great effort but were exhausted and emotionally worn out in the final sets,” said Potomac State coach Martha Ganoe. “We were never able to get in a good rhythm and could not put any offensive pressure on Montgomery. We gave them too many free ball opportunities and when in transition they are extremely difficult to stop.”
It was Potomac State’s fourth loss of the season to Montgomery (20-0), No. 20 in the latest NJCAA Division II poll.
“They are definitely the team to beat in the region,” said Ganoe. “We see them again Friday at home and hope to have another exciting match much like the one we had in pool play over the weekend.”
Dean Day and Ny McGraw of Potomac State were named to the all-tournament team.
In the weekend tournament, McGraw had 43 kills, 11 blocks and 39 digs, and Day led the defense with 103 digs and had 13 aces.
Annie Fox added 37 kills, 16 aces and 44 digs, Hanna Slider dished out 140 assists and also had 40 digs, 12 kills and 10 aces. Kayla Garcia-Madden contributed 25 kills and 22 digs, Kiana Daniels 34 digs and 12 aces, Abby Wilson 19 kills, Dana Hardy 13 kills and Marissa Abe 33 digs.
In Friday’s tri-match, Wilson had 21 kills, McGraw 20, Fox 15 and Garcia-Madden 10.
Potomac State (10-5) hosts Montgomery tonight at 6 p.m.